Archiv 20. Februar 2009

Endziel: Permanente Depression?

And the poor Japanese have been waiting 19 years to get to the beginning of the end of their restructuring crisis. They probably would have gotten to it years ago, were it not for the diligent efforts of Japanese politicians. Instead of letting the banks fail, they bailed them out and propped them up. Result: an on-again, off-again depression that has lasted longer than most marriages.

Der Fluch von Suburbia

It was determined a half century ago that home ownership was a good thing. Since then, the government has bent the rules in favor of the homeowner – with artificially low mortgage rates…and substantial tax benefits. As an unforeseen consequence, the feds helped create the biggest mortgage-backed credit bubble in history. Not only that, they changed to geography of America – with vast suburbs stretching out in all directions, rather than cheaper and more efficient tightly packed apartment buildings.